


The Five Moons

by WinterPixie



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Attempted Kidnapping, Fairy Tale Creatures, First story, Kidnapping, More characters to come, Multi, Not Beta Read, Orphans, Work In Progress, enjoy, maybe a little violence, no its not from marvel, yes i used the names Thor and Loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 00:46:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3431801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterPixie/pseuds/WinterPixie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is the first story I'm putting up here so I'm welcome to constructive criticism. But I hope you enjoy the story!</p></blockquote>





	1. Meet the Moons

The woman was beautiful. That was the first thing she thought. That was the only thing she thought. And then she was underground. And there were cages. She didn’t know where they were. She wanted to ask but when she turned her head to question the woman all her thoughts froze. Finally they stopped. She looked inside the cage. Boys. Just boys. Four of them in total. And all covered in dirt and dressed in rags. With a crease in her forehead she looked down at herself. A seemly old brown dress with tears along the bottom and patched sleeves. _‘Now when did I put this on?’_ she thought. She couldn’t remember ever dressing. But now that she thought about it she couldn’t remember anything. Not when she woke up or when she last ate—which according to the pain in her stomach that she increasingly became aware of, was a long time ago. She couldn’t even remember her name.  
The woman opened the door, and the boys didn’t move. They just sat there. If it wasn’t for the small rise and fall of their chest she would have thought they were nothing but incredibly detailed statues. “Everyone,” the woman spoke—she couldn’t help but notice that her voice sounded like bells mixed with laughter—“This is your new sister. Her name is Mage. I hope you all make sure she feels welcomed.  
 _‘Mage. Is that my name? If so, why couldn’t remember it?’_ She felt a weight on her back pushing her into the cage. Suddenly aware of where the woman was trying to put her she began to struggle. She didn’t want to go in there. Not with the statue boys and their dull—nearly lifeless—eyes. With a hard shove the woman pushed her in, closing the door and locking it, before going through the door they came through. She locked that as well before her steps could be heard ascending the steps.  
Looking away from the only way out she, Mage, looked back at the boys. They didn’t say anything. They just stared. And she just stared back. No one moved for what seemed like hours, till finally one of them--a red-head—spoke. “So Mage huh? Nice name. Kind of strange. But then I can’t really judge.” As he spoke he moved to where he was sitting right across from her, instead of the corner he was in before. “The blonde one is Thor. The one next to him is Loki.” Shifting her eyes to the two boys she couldn’t help but think that the name Thor suited the blonde boy. If properly feed—it was clear it’d been awhile since he’d eaten—the boy would have been the width of two soldiers. The smaller one next to him, Loki, was a twig compared to him. He was extremely pale, with black hair that came an inch or so below his ears. His eyes, green, would have been a brilliant shade, but they were just as dull as the blue ones of Thor’s.  
While she was examining the two boys the red-head had fallen silent. Like he was just waiting for her to finish looking. The thought sent a shiver down Mage’s spine. Seeing her eyes on him again he spoke again, “The one over by the window is Scholar.” Mage once again turned her head to look at the by. He was smaller than the others, but looked to be about the same age. At one point his skin was tanned, but now it was pale (although not as pale as Loki’s) and contrasted with his brown hair witch was darkened with dirt like the others. Once again turning her back to the boy in front of her Mage began to examine him as well.  
He wasn’t as big as Thor but he was close. When standing he probably stood just about an inch higher than herself. “And not but not least there’s me.” There was a sad smile on the boy’s face. Mage couldn’t help but wonder why his smile was sad. Was it because there was another person joining them in the cell, or was it that he was sad that she would be joining them. “My name is King. And I’m so sorry, but you’re going to be here awhile.  
The woman did not come back for what Mage guessed was three days. By then her stomach pain was unbearable and she could hear the other boy’s stomachs growling. The woman had come down with a cart. How she didn’t know. Mage was asleep until the smell of food woke her up. She would have to ask King how the cart got down in later. When she saw the food Mage nearly cried. She didn’t know what any of it was and she didn’t care. She put her hands on two of the bars as though to pull them back when she was shocked. When she looked down at her hands she saw two angry red welts from where the bars were. Mage just looked at her hands in confusion.  
Three days.  
Three days she had been down there and never, under any circumstances did the bars hurt her. So why now? The answer became reveled when she looked to the boys who were all lined up on either side of her. It was clear that they were holding themselves back. Looking from the bars to her hands to the boys, Mage figured it out. They were enchanted. With this realization a wash of fear came over her. Why were the bars enchanted? Was it to keep others out or—and she really hoped it wasn’t—was it to keep them in. Rubbing her hands together Mage realized they didn’t even sting. In fact, they stopped hurting as soon as she let go, the welts the only signs that something had happened.  
“Now you boys are so rude.” The woman was scolding the boys Mage realized. “There is a lady among you. Be polite and let her get first pick.” The way she said it made Mage scared. There was an icily undertone that demanded no argument. Feeling a hand on her back, she turned her head to see King. He was the only one not still staring at the cart full of food. Nodding his head he gave her a slight push, until she was standing in front of the woman. The only thing separating them was the iron—and enchanted—bars. The woman smiled at her. She really was beautiful, but that wasn’t why Mage’s eyes widened. No, it was because for a split second Mage saw a woman who was hunched over, dressed in a torn black dress, with a blind eye and a few teeth missing. But as soon as it was there, it was gone. So fast that Mage thought she must have imagined it.  
“Now my dear what would you like?” Mage couldn’t bring herself to speak not after what she had just seen. So she just pointed to a random thing on the cart. Nodding her head the woman smiled. Mage diverted her eyes to look at something behind the woman instead of ate her.  
And it happened again.  
Now no longer looking directly at her, Mage saw the scary looking woman again. _‘Witch’_ She didn’t know where the thought came from but she knew it was right. The woman was a witch. And not only was she hiding what she really looked like, but she also had them in a cage.  
“Well Mage? Aren’t you going to try it?” Mage was confused by the woman’s words. That is until she looked down at the hands. They were covered in frosting and holding a small pile of red frosted cakes. Looking up through her hair she saw the woman (once again beautiful) looking at her expectedly. Mage nodded her head. Shifting the small pile till the cakes could be balanced against her dress with one hand, Mage grabbed a cake from the top. A bit slower than she meant to, Mage brought the cake to her mouth and took a bit.  
They were good. They were really good. Seeing the smile on her face the woman nodded and said “Now Mage, don’t you think that you need to let the boys have something too?” Freezing, Mage turned her head to look at her fellow prisoners. She had forgotten they were even there. For a minute there it was just her and the cake. Nodding her head a bit, Mage moved to one of the corners—the one farthest form everyone—and went back to eating her cakes. By the time she was done the woman—no the lady was a witch, she reminded herself—had already left. Turning to look at the boys she realized they were staring at her. Again.  
Frowning, Mage stared back. This was how the last few days had gone. After King had introduced everyone they just stared at her. They didn’t say a word. Not when she tried asking them questions about where they were and who the woman was (though after Thor’s face had darkened at that particular question she resolved not to ask again, but she wondered why he had reacted like that. She now knew why.) Or about how long they had been there (Loki’s face at that one could have frozen water). Now Mage was determined to get some answers form them. She would keep asking until one of them answered. Opening her mouth Mage asked the question that would confirm her findings. “She’s a witch isn’t she?”  
“Yes, she is.” Started Mage took a few seconds to recover. Honestly she hadn’t expected anyone to answer right away. She expected to have to ask for hours before they spoke. But no. As soon as the question was asked, King replied. Like he was expecting her to ask.  
Breathing out a heavy sigh Mage said “So what are we going to do? I mean we are going to do something right? We’re not just going to sit here as she keeps us locked up?”  
“We may have something planed.” This time is was Scholar who replied. Now Mage was even more shocked. Scholar hadn’t even changed his facial expression the whole time she was there, but here he was speaking! But now that she thought about it the only one who has actually spoken was King.  
“But we might need your help.” And that re-caught her attention. Mage couldn’t help her thoughts from running wild after that. _‘They need my help? But didn’t he just say they already had a plan? Why would they need me? But then again, if we actually do get out where would I go? If I help I could stick with them until I find someplace to live.’_  
“But before we tell you, we have three questions for you.” King was the one speaking now. Mage watched them exchange looks. She was a little worried. What did they need to ask her? She couldn’t remember anything. They knew that right?  
“Mage,” now it was Thor speaking to her, “what do you remember?” Apparently they did not know that. Looking at the ground, Mage let out soft sigh.  
“Nothing. Well not nothing. I know basic things. Like how many cakes I ate and what types of animals there are. But other stuff, moments that happened outside here? Nothing.”  
Looking back up through her hair Mage saw Thor wearing a sad smile. Like he was expecting her answer but having her confirm brought him no comfort. Switching her gaze to the others, Mage realized they all had that sad smile on their faces. Thinking the look didn’t suit them at all, Mage tried to change the subject by asking what the second question was.  
“Well it’s not something you can really answer.” King said. Nodding toward Loki he took a step closer to Mage grabbing her arm. But his grip was soft, like he was expecting her to disappear any moment and could do nothing to stop her.  
“Mage, I want you to trust us. Ok?” At her nod King released her arm only for Loki’s hand to replace it a second later.  
“Take a deep breath and try not to fight me, ok?” Once again, Mage nodded her consent. Closing her eyes, Mage tried to calm herself. She didn’t know what Loki was going to do, but if it was prominent in their escape then she would trust them. At least, for as long as the situation called for it. Felling a tingling on her arm, Mage opened her eyes and looked down. Her arm had a green light around it. And it seemed to be moving upward.  
Panicking, Mage tried to wretch her arm away from Loki, whose eyes were looking at her yet not at her.  
“Don’t fight him. It will make this all the harder.” Looking up at Thor, Mage tried to keep the quiver out of her voice.  
“What is he doing? How is this involved with getting out?!”  
Thor, it seemed, tried for a calming smile, and said “He’s looking for a spark.”  
“A spark?” Mages voice was straining now in her effort to not remove herself from the green light that had consumed her arm and was moving toward her chest.  
“A magic spark. He’s trying to see if you can do magic. Now please stay still.” Mage’s had started to spin. The magic had reached the center of her chest and she felt like she was about to explode from the inside-out.  
Then the feeling was gone. Loki had let go of her arm and was a few steps away, leaning against the stone wall, trying to catch his breath. When he seemed to be breathing properly Loki stepped away from the wall and steadied himself. Everyone’s eyes were on him, wondering what he found.  
“She has a spark. It’s small but it’s there.” King began to smile and grabbed Mage in a hug spinning her around laughing. Mage didn’t know what to do. She had a spark, a magic spark apparently, but where did that fit into their plan? Putting her down King slapped her on her back, no longer laughing but still smiling wide. Not one of the sad smiles but a pure happiness one.  
“It doesn’t matter how small it is. As long as it there we have a way of getting out, right?” King asked, not really directing his question to anyone. “Now then men,” King paused casting a look at Mage, “and Mage,” he added to show he was talking to her as well, “We have our plan, we have our strength, and now we have our magic. All that’s let is to put it into action.”  
“We’ll have to do it soon. We don’t know how much time we have until the witch realizes that Mage has magic as well.” Scholar put in. The other boys nodded. Once the witch realized that Mage had magic, she would remove her from the cell and the boys would never see Mage again.  
“Excuse me, but what does me having magic have to do with getting out, if I may ask a second time?” King looked back at Mage still smiling. But his smile had changed she realized. It wasn’t a smile of happiness or sadness. This smile was predatory. It was the smile of a wolf that just cornered a rabbit.  
“Final question Mage.” King said his smile not faltering, “How would you like to help us kill a witch.” Mage couldn’t help a smile matching King’s from spreading across her face.  
“My dear King, I would love nothing more.” At that King began to lay out their plan to her, while the other three boys grew equally predatory grins.  
  
Their chance came three days later. Mage had been awake when the witch appeared outside the cell. But this time she didn’t have the cart of sweets. No, the witch wasn’t there to feed them. Her face was one of controlled rage. And when she saw Mage watching her face began to darken. Steeping toward the cell door, her mind clouded with rage at the thought of allowing another female with magic in, the witch failed to realize King and Thor sitting on either side of the door. When she sung the door open, she took no notice of the boys, who (having been preparing for this moment for three months Mage had been told) held bits of the stone walls, in small chunks but with sharpened edges.  
 _ **“You have to look terrified. Any signs of bravery could tip her off and we could all end up as worm food.”**_ Mage remembered King telling her. They had agreed to wait for the day that the witch found out about Mage’s spark, since she would come into the cell any other time. _‘Terrified,’_ Mage thought, _‘I can do that. Not like an angry witch is coming straight at me looking like she want to chew on my bones. No looking terrified shouldn’t be that hard.’_ In an effort to look just as scared as she really was (which she would never admit to) Mage tried to sink further into the corner she was sitting in.  
 _ **“Keep your eyes on her. Don’t look at us. It might give her reason to turn around. You have to be looking at her. Don’t try to look over her shoulder or anything. As far as she know, you don’t know what she is. We have to keep it that way.”**_ It took all of her power to obey Loki’s words and to not look away from the witch. Mage once again tried to escape into her corner, and to get away from the intimating figure who was staring down at her. Before she knew what was happing the witch had her hand on Mage’s arm and was hauling her to her feet, not even bothering to hide the hatred in the gesture.  
 _ **“She’ll try to drag you out of the cell. Don’t let her. Dig in your heels, yank your arm back, do anything you can to keep her eyes on you. Don’t let her turn around. We might not be in positon so you have to struggle for a moment or two to give us time.”**_ Mage didn’t know if they were in position or not but the witch was about to turn around, so she did what Thor suggested. She dug in her heels and yanked her arm back. The resistance got Mage the witch’s attention back on her. _‘Not that’s such a good thing when you think about it.’_ Mage couldn’t help the thought and was tempted to just let the witch turn around so her attention wasn’t on her but the boys might not be position and if the witch turned around then the plan was ruined. So Mage pushed the temptation away and continued to struggled, seemly trying to get back into her corner.  
 _ **“Once we’re in positon one of us will wave at you from over her shoulder. You’ll see it out of the corner of your eye and once you do stop moving. Don’t struggle, don’t do anything. Just go limp. Hopefully the witch will be surprised at the lack of movement directly after so much struggling and when lose her balance. If she doesn’t, then you need to push her. It doesn’t have to be in a direction, just push her. Then be ready to fight like the devil is trying to drag you to hell, cause we will need all the distraction we can get for Loki to break the enchantment on the bars.”**_ Noticing a movement from the corner of her eye Mage stopped moving. She went limp. It was pure luck that she chose to when the witch decided to give a giant tug on her arm. Which didn’t just make the witch lose her balance from the lack of resistance but she pulled Mage along with her.  
Mage wasn’t supposed to fall as well. Scholar told her to stop moving and, if need, push the witch. But she want supposed to fall with her. Gaining her bearings she realized Scholar was trying to get her to stand up. Shaking her head to clear it Mage stood up and realized what Scholar was talking about with needing more distraction. The witch was holding Thor off, but just barely and King was being held to the wall by a shield of red magic. Loki was trying to get past the bars but failing and Scholar moved to try to help Thor get past the witch’s physical defenses.  
Something shiny had caught Mage’s eye when she was trying to figure out what was happing, and when she took a step closer to it, she realized it was a silver dagger. _‘The witch must have dropped it.’_ At this Mage became exceedingly angry and picked the dagger up. The witch’s back was to Mage, being to preoccupied with Scholar and Thor to bother to remember why she had gone down to the cell in the first place. _‘It would be simple to go up behind her and to stab her in the back.’_ Before Mage knew what she was doing, she took a step forward and brought the dagger up ready to plunge it into the woman who dared to imprison them.  
But the witch turned at the last second. Some sixth sense warning her of danger. She turned just in time to see the dagger she had originally brought to kill the girl with come down and impale itself at the base of her throat. It was a killing blow.  
The witch crumpled as the life left her eyes. King was dropped from the wall, the witch’s magic no longer there to hold him up. At the same time enchantments on the bars fell off and Loki accidently destroyed five of them. Thor and Scholar took a step back at the girl who was breathing heavily with a blood soaked dagger in her right hand. They watched as she tore the sleeve off the witch’s dress to clean the dagger before turning toward them  
“Well then, that didn’t go as expected.” Laughing slightly at Mage’s comment King replied, “No it didn’t but things don’t always go as planned.”  
“Isn’t that the truth.” Loki said as he stepped closer to the witch’s body. “We’ll have to burn the body. Just in case she has any death altering spells in place.”  
Nodding Thor grabbed the witch’s body and walked out of the cell stopping only for Scholar to pick the lock with a pin from the woman’s hair. As they walked out of what they saw was a dungeon, Mage asked King a question she was wondering after the light left the woman’s eyes. “Shouldn’t she turn back? You know, into what she really looks like.” “Maybe. I don’t know. Loki’s the magic expert and I don’t think he knows for sure.” Nodding her head to his answer, Mage couldn’t help but wonder what they would do now.  
Mage was still wondering on what to do next when they burned the body and a few magic trinkets. Loki had gone through the rooms with her and King to try and find anything that was tainted with dark magic. While they were doing that Thor and King dug a hole about 0.8 km from the witch’s estate. There were a few idols and a couple of amulets but not a lot of things were tainted. It didn’t take them long to go through all the bedrooms (eight), the study, or the armory (“Why would a witch need an armory?” Mage had asked Loki. “For the silver from the armor and weapons.”).  
They only had trouble going through the kitchen and the garden since they couldn’t really tell what was safe and what wasn’t. In the end they didn’t have to decide since Scholar found a book in one of the cupboards saying what each thing did. By the time they went through every room and found Thor and King the sun was setting. As they watched King poured the kitchen oil they found over the body and trinkets and lit a match. He threw it into the hole and backed away as the oil caught fire and set everything a blaze.  
“You know, we could always stay here.” All four boys had turned their heads to Mage and were looking at her like she had lost her senses. But she wasn’t about to be deterred. Mage had thought her suggestion through and she was going to make them see her side of things.  
“Why on earth would we stay here?” Thor asked. Looking him into his eyes Mage said, “Where else would we go? We have no memories and we don’t know who we are. The names the witch gave us could, as far as we know, not even be our real names. We have no information on our families, or if we even have families. That house,” at this Mage gestured in the direction of the estate, “Is all we know. That’s why we would stay here.”  
“And what would we do for money?” Mage turned so she was looking at Scholar, “We could sell some of the stuff in the house. God knows we won’t need most of it. And we could replant the garden, selling some of the crops.”  
“And our families?” Now it was Loki. “You all were gone for 3 months. Even if we did remember who they were, the witch probably removed us from their memories or they think we’re dead. Either way I don’t think they would welcome any of us back.”  
“I think it’s a good idea.” Turning toward King, Mage saw him looking at her. “Mage is right. On all of it. Besides, there’s a lot of magical stuff in that house and I’m not willing to just abandon it for another witch to come by and restart what the other was doing. I say we stay here. There’s a village not far away and it shouldn’t be hard to convince them that we took up residence in the forest.”  
The other boys weren’t keen on staying where they were imprisoned but they knew King and Mage were right. Nodding their consent the boys agreed. With the matter settled they fell silent. Watching as the fire destroyed the witch’s body and the tainted trinkets.  
“We’re going to need a name.” Scholar had broken the silence. “A name?” Mage asked. “A sir-name.” Scholar said. “Yes I suppose we do. So what shall it be?” King asked.  
“How about Thunder?” Thor said.  
“No, we should do Smith.” Loki countered.  
“I’m rather found of Steel.” King commented.  
“What about moon?” The arguing boys looked over at Mage. But she wasn’t looking at them. She was staring up at the full moon above.  
“I like it.” Scholar said.  
“Yeah. King Moon. Has a nice ring to it.”  
“Loki Moon….I like it.”  
“I think Moon is a great name Mage.” Thor said.  
“So it’s settled then. From now on we are the Moons.” King said.  
“Yes, but there is one more thing.” Mage said. Looking over toward the boys.  
“And what it that?” King asked.  
Smiling Mage walked past them and said “Who gets what room?”, before taking off toward the estate, dead set on getting the room with a view over the forest. The boys’ laughter could be heard behind her, and Mage couldn’t help but join in.  
 _‘Mage Moon, and her four brothers King, Thor, Loki, and Scholar. I like it.’_ She thought before pushing herself to run faster to get to the estate, no, to get home, first.


	2. Won't Ever Catch Me

Running from guards wasn’t the best way to spend her nights. She could be reading some of the books Scholar swipes from the many lords’ and ladies’ studies or be training with Thor or, even better yet, work on her control of her magic. But instead she chose to sneak into a random lord's house (she can’t even remember his name, only that he was known for short-changing his field workers) and swiping what she thought could get her a lot of gold.  
Her feet were silent as she ran across the padded roof the guards chasing after her the only sign to what was happing to the rapidly growing amount of those jolted awake from iron clanging against metal. _‘Really, if they really wanted to catch me they should have ditched the armor. It's only slowing them down.’_ She thought as she made the small jump to the next patched roof, her landing as quiet as if she wasn’t even there.  
The guards on the other hand weren’t as quiet. When they jumped the metal and iron of their armor clanked against each other, most likely waking up those who were still asleep. Using a few words she had heard the smithy use whenever he hit his thumb, she decided it was better to continue this chase on the ground, where they was less of a chance of someone looking out their window and seeing her face.  
 _ **“Always avoid someone seeing you. If they’ve seen you then they can describe you. If they can describe you, then it’s only a matter of time before your face is on a wanted poster.”**_ Her brother’s words echoed back in her head, reminding her to pull of the scrap of cloth she had cut and dyed to black as to hide most of her face. The cloth was rectangular shaped and went up to above her nose but just below her eyes. It provided significant cover for her face, but made it difficult to breathe so she only wore it when she got in and when she got out.  
And now she had to wear it while running. _‘Great, just great. If the guards don’t catch me then I’ll pass out from lack of air and be devoured by wolves.’_ She thought bitterly. Then grunted with the effort of maintain her balance after she didn’t jump, but fell through the next gap of house and rolled when she hit the ground to avoid breaking her ankle. Yes that wasn’t something she ever wanted to repeat again.  
Getting to her feet she raced out of the small space, not wanting to be there any longer in case the guards had some friends that followed along the ground and saw her fall. She wasn’t that far from the wall that went around the village, but the guards weren’t that far behind her as well. ‘Looks like they did have some people on the ground.’ She thought as she ran faster, thankful for all the races her brothers challenged her to in the past, and still today.  
When she reached the wall the guards were nothing but about 10 feet from her and gaining fast. She scrambled of the wall, glad the villagers who worked in the lords estate didn’t repair the wall like they said they would. It made climbing that much easier. She had just barely gotten her left leg on top of the wall, being careful to avoid the iron spike that so many maidens had thrown themselves upon from the prospect of wedding someone they did not love, before the guards were upon her. But they were too late. The wall was twice the height of her oldest brother, him at 5 foot 6, and she was at the very top.  
To say the guards were angry would be an exaggeration. The thief had gotten away once more with even more of the lords’ and ladies’ valuables. The thief was fast and nimble. Hardly ever making a sound when she stole something and in the rare chance that she did she always managed to climb the wall wasn’t then any of them could run.  
‘The captain wasn’t going to be happy about this’ One guard couldn’t help but think, signing. It was then when he looked up did he see something on the very edge of the wall. Thinking the thief might’ve dropped it, he called over one of the taller men, one who would have an easier time of reaching the scrap of paper then himself, and had them bring it down to him.  
It was standard writing paper. Nothing of the stuff the rich would use, all billowy and soft. No, this was the kind the villagers used, stiff and hard as the wooden bark it was made from. Realizing he wasn’t going to get any information just looking at it the guard unfolded the scrap and was meet with four words.  
Just four words that made him crumple the paper up and start the long walk back to his comander’s office to give him another one of the damned thief’s notes. He hated whenever she left a note. He could tell she was mocking them. Like it was all a game to her. Like making them run from one end of the village to the other in a hopeful attempt to catch her was nothing more than a child’s game. It infuriated him. And it’s why he crumpled the paper more, in angrier at those four words that mocked him and his fellow guards.  
 __ **You’ll never catch me.**  
~M  
He had patience. He had patience to spare. But this girl, _this thief,_ was toying with him and she getting away with it and it was driving him insane! Every attack, every theft, anytime she stole something or messed with one of the lords she would leave a note, every one clearly taunting him. And he hated it.  
Three years. This girl had been stealing for three years (for as much as they knew) and this didn’t happen to the recently retired commander. No this only started after he had been promoted! Why?! What had he done? He was convince the job would be relatively easy, save for a few actual criminals that he had to hunt down, but no! He had done something to have his girl thief torment him with taunting notes about he was bad at his job and he was never going to catch her.  
But she was wrong, he would catch her. He almost had enough proof for his theory and once he was convince he was right, he would hang that girl for her crimes himself. And if he had a smile while he did it, so be it. Anyone else might lose their mind a tad if they dealt with her antics on a weekly basis as well.

Mage loved the forest. It was always quiet enough for her to think but with enough noise so she won’t get lost in her thought, (which she hated doing). She especially loved it at night, when you could hear different but alike sounds to the ones during the day. But when she loved it the most was after a job. After she shamed a lord and a few guards for letting a girl make off with a pound or so in gold, gems, or anything of value. She could hear her heart beat pounding in her ears, the adrenaline not quite having worn off yet. She saw the animals that only came out at night, since her eyes adjusted to the dark while she was waiting for the lord to begin his dreadful snoring.  
And once her breath stopped being so loud and the pudding in her ears lessened she could truly hear the forest as it was supposed to be seen. Wild yet tamed. Beautiful yet rugged. The same four words her brothers used to describe her on more than one occasion. So it only made sense when they found out her magic was strongest when it came to plants. She could make plants ripen faster if the winter came sooner than expected, and, if she was angry, could make a vine whip out and slash somebody.  
But what always brought out a laugh in her was making flowers bloom overnight in random place (no need to leave a trail, the guards might get suspicious) and watching the children fawn over them while the adults, the ones who knew if wasn’t an act of pure nature but one of magic, tried to keep the children from getting to close and picking the potentially dangerous flowers. (Not that mage would ever make her plants dangerous, but a little fear to keep wanders from trampling all over the forest wasn’t so bad.) Which she preferred to do right after a job, to expel any energy that might try to keep her up at night.  
As she neared home, she began to smell the smoke from Thor’s hearth. He loved that thing and wouldn’t let any of them use it, not even for food (which he cooked, but still). Hoping for a quick dinner followed by an even quicker wash (the water was always could, no matter the time of year) and a soft bed (which was always unmade to Scholar’s dismay) Mage speed up her footsteps, the small pouch which held a few of the lord’s valuables rocking into her. She didn’t even know what she got. She just grabbed something from the lord’s personal storage chest and got out.  
Mage knew she didn’t get as much as she could but the lord had more than one personal chest and it took a while to find the right one and putting the others back in order before she opened it. And she still had to write that note as well. She knew it was a bad idea, but she couldn’t help herself. Whenever she went into town, during the day, she would see the guard’s commander, not much older than herself and possibly the same age as Scholar, with dark bags under his eyes and very clearly trying to hide a yawn. It brought her joy to know that at least her antics got a reaction out of someone, since her brothers were used to it by now, and she didn’t try to pull something May (a flower girl from the village).  
Mage also knew that if she kept doing it, eventually the commander would figure out the leaver of those notes, who in turn was her. But she wasn’t worried. Her brothers may have been stronger, more adapt to magic and literature then she was but Mage had one thing they didn’t.  
She had the forest and the earth. And it was because of this that the poor commander that was undoubtedly driving slowly mad with her notes would never catch her.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story I'm putting up here so I'm welcome to constructive criticism. But I hope you enjoy the story!


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